Dementia By Paul Lindquist: Article Analysis

Understanding What Causes Dementia
By Paul Lindquist | Submitted On January 29, 2012

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Expert Author Paul Lindquist
When your senior parent is diagnosed with dementia, you might wonder and ask yourself this crucial question, "What is dementia?" To be able to provide proper help to your parents, it is important that you understand the concept behind this syndrome. In fact, dementia is not a disease. To be more precise,
it refers to various symptoms that define the condition. Consequently, this condition speaks of an individual's ability to carry out certain functions in comparison to how they performed them in the past.

Common symptoms of dementia are memory loss, language difficulty, poor judgment, disorientation, and difficulty performing daily living routines such as eating, dressing, or hygiene tasks.
Dementia is caused by different factors, such as trauma to the brain due to a disease, inadequate supply of oxygen, head injury, stroke, and many
more.

Dementia is most commonly caused by Alzheimer's disease, origins of which are not known even until today. All we know is that this disease hurts and kills brain cells. Alzheimer's is not usually associated with aging, but the risk of acquiring this disease increases with age.

Next to Alzheimer's is vascular dementia, which is caused by a series of strokes in the brain. The strokes can be very tiny that the sufferer may not even be conscious of them. In the long run, however, as they accumulate they can damage the brain tissue to a great extent. Other causes of dementia are Lewy Body disease, Huntington's disease, head trauma, Pick's disease and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

Those caring for a senior loved one should know what dementia is and should keep in mind the following:

The brain's emotional memories show more resistance to dementia than factual memories. As a consequence, you might realize that your loved one seems to be always angry with you for no apparent reason. This is because individuals with dementia usually forget the situations that instigated their strong feelings, but those feelings remain in them even after the incident. So if your Dad was furious last week in response to your suggestion to help him do something, that bitterness can linger even if he has already forgotten why he was unhappy with you. Remember, he is not in any way trying to mistreat you.

As dementia progresses, it may or may not have an effect on the emotional memory. As a consequence, you will often be facing situations with your aging loved one where he demonstrates unpredictable behaviors within a week or even within a day. This is because the neurons in his brains activate and achieve connections in an erratic and random way. This is similar to a fading fire that sparkles and flickers erratically. Any damage to your loved one's emotional memory can cause him to lose the ability to communicate an urgent need even to his family members. As a result, he may feel very embarrassed. Of course, an individual suffering from dementia can't control or prevent it from happening. But family and friends often immediately categorize behavior and comments based on their longtime relationships. Although such a reaction is human nature, this doesn't help your loved one in any way.

When it comes to dementia care, you should never behave in a way that demeans him.

Here are some tips to remember when communicating with your loved one:

Be careful with your facial expressions and posture.
Your senior parent observes your body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, which he uses to interpret your motives and intentions. Anytime you show him that you're upset or impatient, he would think that you're angry with him and so he might refuse to cooperate with you. Always be friendly and relaxed towards him, and make good eye contact. Speak clearly, slowly, and simply, but do not baby talk him. Use specific terms while trying your best not to sound "bossy." When your senior loved one fails to respond, it is best to wait for a few moments before you repeat your question or instruction. Take note of the nonverbal signals that you're providing and receiving. Never rush as this will only frustrate you and your senior loved one. In the end, knowing what is dementia is not as important as knowing how to properly treat those suffering from this disorder. Remember every person, dementia patient or not, deserves to be treated with utmost respect. Everyone knows, even those diagnosed with dementia, whether they're treated with respect or not. Dementia patients, after all, are still adults carrying with them a lifetime of learning and experience, and they deserve our
respect.